Stalin era begins with Covid, welfare schemes in focus

Stalin, along with 33 ministers, took oath in the name of conscience, and not god, keeping in line with the rationalist tenets of the Dravidian movement.

MK Stalin took oath as chief minister of Tamil Nadu in a small ceremony in Chennai on Friday, announcing five key decisions on welfare, cash subsidies and health insurance to mark his first day in office.

After reaching his office in the Secretariat at Fort St George, MK Stalin signed five important orders, four of which were promised in DMK’s election manifesto. (ANI)

Stalin, along with 33 ministers, took oath in the name of conscience, and not god, keeping in line with the rationalist tenets of the Dravidian movement. The 68-year-old leader, the son of former chief minister M Karunanidhi, led the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to victory after a decade in the recently concluded assembly elections.

As he took the oath,his wife Durga, and son and newly elected MLA Udhyanidhi broke down while party cadre cheered him on. The crowd was restricted due to Covid-19 curbs and Stalin had asked his followers to watch the event on television.

“Congratulations to Thiru @mkstalin on being sworn-in as Tamil Nadu chief minister,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

After reaching his office in the Secretariat at Fort St George, he signed five important orders, four of which were promised in DMK’s election manifesto.

The decisions included financial relief of ₹4,000 to 20.7 million ration card holders to tide over hardships faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first instalment of ₹2,000 will be distributed in May and the rest will be given later. This scheme will cost the state ₹4,153 crore.

The Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme will be extended to cover treatment for Covid-19 in private hospitals for existing beneficiaries of the scheme. Travel was made free for women in state-owned buses. This will roll out from Saturday and the state will sanction ₹1,200 crore towards this scheme.

Stalin also slashed the price of milk produced by state-run Aavin by ₹3 per litre. A new department will be formed to address people’s grievances within the first 100 days of the new government. The department ‘CM in your constituency’ will be headed by an IAS officer, Shilpa Prabhakar. Stalin had collected these grievances during his campaign titled ‘Stalin in your constituency’.

In the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime, the late J Jayalalithaa, who assumed office in May 2016, also signed five orders on her first day.

Stalin also held a Covid-19 review meeting with all district collectors via video conference. Tamil Nadu on Friday reported 26,445 new cases and 197 new deaths. “According to experts this will increase over the next two weeks,” Stalin said in his video address. “So we have to increase bed and oxygen facilities and drugs on war footing.” He also announced setting up a 800 bed facility with oxygen in Chennai out of which 300 will be opened from May 10.

Experts said Stalin aimed to start on a good note but the five orders will be a huge burden on the exchequer. “He has made generous announcements which are also election promises but it will cost the exchequer at least ₹10,000 crore,” says political analyst Maalan Narayanan. “In the present economic condition, the GDSP will come down due to Covid-19, the state’s borrowing has reached its limits, the state is also carrying the burden of public sector undertakings such as the electricity and transport corporation which isn’t making profit.”

Stalin’s new team

V Irai Anbu was named the new chief secretary, replacing Rajeev Ranjan who took over in February. A seasoned IAS officer and writer, Anbu received the Si Pa Aditanar Literary Award for the year 2017 from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anbu’s brother is a 1995 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, V Thiruppugazh who is considered to be close to Prime Minister Modi.

Thiruppugazh had served as Modi’s secretary in 2005-06 when the latter was Gujarat chief minister. He served in the Modi administration in the Centre too and was appointed as Advisor in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). “All officers appointed are efficient and one of the reasons for Irai Anbu’s appointment could be to have a more cordial relationship with the Prime Minister’s Office,” said Narayanan.

Four senior bureaucrats were also announced as private secretaries to Stalin--T Udhayachandran as secretary 1, Dr P Umanath, is transferred from his role as managing director, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) and posted as secretary-2, M S Shanmugam as secretary-3 and Anu George as secretary- 4.